Ch.83Pure Love

# 1.

Great Prophetess Rose.

From the moment she was born into this world, she was aware of her own ending.

A child with the name of a jewel,

A free man who visits holding that child’s hand,

And herself, who eventually falls in love.

She tried everything to prevent it.

“[Rose…]”

“Dalan, my foolish love.”

Before this man, even her heart that had remained cold for centuries melted away.

“Rose?”

The present Dalan called out to her, but the people she needed to comfort now were the Dalan and Rose of the distant future, buried in regret.

Rose momentarily detached herself from reality and whispered tenderly toward the future Dalan.

“Dalan. What exactly…”

# 2.

“[…makes you so sad?]”

Rose’s incomprehensible murmurs reached Dalan after four years had passed.

“[Tell me, Dalan.]”

Facing that gentle gaze that looked at him steadily from the distant past, Dalan held back his tears and slowly answered.

“I vowed to protect you… I prided myself on escaping fate and pursuing freedom… but I hate myself for becoming a liar in the end.”

Dalan the Free Man.

A fool who chased freedom his entire life, yet ultimately stepped into fate of his own accord.

Dalan hated himself.

“I hate myself so much. I loathe myself…!!”

Thick tears streamed down from the blue eyes that gazed at Rose.

“You knew our fate. That’s why you kept pushing me away… but in the end, my foolish desire has…”

If only he hadn’t followed that foolish prophecy to the deep blue forest,

If he hadn’t taken Ruby’s outstretched hand, and thus never met Rose.

“You, Ruby, and the villagers… would all still be living happily now.”

These were the lingering regrets of a foolish man who had chosen fate just once in his life.

Rose’s eyes, facing him, were filled with indescribable sadness.

Seeing those eyes, Dalan clutched at his chest and murmured.

“I know, you must hate me too. You must feel so wronged and so sad…! If only it weren’t for me… if only I didn’t exist, you would…!!”

When he stopped self-deprecating and raised his head to receive Rose’s resentment,

Rose, who had been standing motionless all this time, erased even her faint smile and asked through gritted teeth.

“[Do you dislike me…?]”

Great Prophetess Rose.

Having seen and reviewed countless forms of the future innumerable times, her human emotions had faded long ago.

“[Why… why do you think of the love we shared as nothing but a tragedy…?]”

Yet she was someone who had helplessly crumbled before the new emotion called love.

“[Yes, I knew it. I knew that the moment I fell in love with you, I would die. I also knew that our love would cause my clan to collapse and Ruby to feel guilty…!!]”

“Then why?!”

Dalan desperately reached out toward her, though he couldn’t touch her.

“Why did you accept my feelings?! Me, who only brought you unhappiness, who cried for freedom without realizing I was submitting to fate, why on earth did you—!!!”

“[Because I couldn’t help but love you!!]”

Rose Red.

Among the originally long-lived Red clan, she was the only one who never had children, and thus the only one who could still prophesy.

In other words, Rose Red alone had to bear the role and weight of the entire clan throughout her life.

For someone like her, Dalan was…

“[You were the only one who saw me as a person, not as the Great Prophetess or someone burdened by fate…!! Me, who had to carry the clan my entire life, who had to submit to fate because of it!!]”

Indeed, he was someone she couldn’t help but love with all her remaining life.

“[So please, Dalan… don’t say our love was wrong…]”

In a life filled with fate and prophecies, her one and only love was also a tragedy dictated by fate.

“[I have never… regretted loving you, not even once…!!]”

Rose sobbed.

At that moment, Dalan recalled the daily life he had shared with Rose four years ago.

-Were you crying?

When he asked her that as she was sniffling at home, Rose wiped away her tears and answered:

-…Dalan. If our love reaches the tragic end as prophesied, will you think that our current love was wrong?

Dalan at that time shook his head.

-That won’t happen, so don’t worry.

But in the end, it did happen.

The prophecy that had made Rose anxious her entire life came true without mercy.

“I…”

As Dalan hesitated, not knowing what to do, Rose asked again.

“[Now that you’ve realized we’ve reached the tragedy, do you regret that we loved each other?]”

Rose was afraid.

A prophet’s death begins when they can no longer see the future, and this was the furthest future Rose could see.

…Clutch.

Fearing he might answer that he regretted it, she grabbed her collar without asking again.

She was a long-lived being who had lived through countless years.

The love of long-lived beings is much deeper than that of humans, so Dalan, being an ordinary human, might answer that he regretted it.

So she told herself not to be shocked.

From the day she pushed Dalan away,

From the day she went to find him when he didn’t come,

From the day they finally began their love.

She had thought this might happen.

Despite her mind growing increasingly cold, tears continued to flow.

Uncontrollable sobs, sorrows that would further complicate Dalan’s feelings, kept flowing without restraint.

“[…I’m sorry. I…]”

Just as she was resolving to give more love to the present Dalan rather than further distressing the future, broken Dalan,

Step, step, step…

Dalan approached her, who had appeared like an illusion, and whispered while holding back his tears.

“Not even once.”

“[…What?]”

“I swear on everything I have, I have never, not for a single moment, regretted loving you, Rose.”

“[Ah…!!]”

Rose cautiously reached out her hand.

Though this was the past recreated by Flora, and neither Rose nor Dalan were their real selves,

“[Thank you, Dalan…. truly…]”

“I should be the one…”

The two felt each other’s warmth.

Even though it might have been an illusion derived from memory, the two felt each other’s warmth.

# 2.

Great Prophetess Rose regained her composure.

Having lived through long years, controlling her emotions was something she was accustomed to.

And so Dalan also regained his composure.

Though human aging is uncontrollably fast, mental growth is also much deeper and faster.

“[Remember, it’s not because of you.]”

“You too, Rose. Know that my lifelong love is only for you, Rose.”

Having reaffirmed their love for each other, the two approached Ruby, who was lying down.

“Please, Master.”

Dalan’s brief request.

The monk nodded and removed the pressure that had been applied to Ruby.

“[…A moment.]”

As Dalan stepped aside slightly, Rose moved with calm steps and sat beside Ruby.

“[Do you know? The sole Great Prophet in a clan can look not only into the future but also into the past.]”

Rustle.

Rose’s hand, which had been stroking Ruby’s head, slowly moved toward Ruby’s eyes.

“[In the past, present, and future. In all timelines, when the Great Prophet disappears, the blood of the clan seeks out a new prophet.]”

A red light flowing from Rose’s eyes seeped into Ruby’s eyes.

“[I’ve left all I want to tell you in the past, so open your eyes, get up, and let’s talk. And remember, Ruby. None of this is your fault, or Dalan’s fault, or my fault.]”

We simply…

“[Did our best to love, that’s all.]”

After kissing Ruby’s forehead, Rose whispered one last thing.

“[As always, don’t be afraid, and shine brightly, Ruby.]”

That was the end.

As Dalan and Ruby resisted the mental world, the barrier of Flora, the Blooming Flower Calamity, began to shatter.

The scenery falling apart,

The fading scent,

Rose growing dim.

“[Please take care of Ruby, Dalan.]”

“Don’t worry.”

“[…I love you. So much.]”

“I love you too, so very much.”

Crack.

Finally, the mental world split apart.

The revealed reality was a deep, dark cave, and as Dalan carefully closed his eyes,

“[Ah…!]”

Rose, who was scattering into pieces, turned to Dalan and asked,

“[Dalan… what did you truly love? Freedom? Or me?]”

She had always wondered.

Why someone who loved freedom so much had submitted to fate.

…Actually, she could guess the answer, but the ‘current’ Dalan wouldn’t tell her, saying it was embarrassing.

“[Dalan?]”

Rose pressed for an answer, though she already knew it.

To Rose’s cute question, Dalan answered without hesitation.

“Of course it’s you, Rose.”

A first love that began later in life than most.

Nevertheless, it was…

“[…It’s love.]”

“It is love.”

Unmistakably a love unto death.

.

.

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【Main Scenario – <Those Who Could Not Be Saved – Rose & Dalan> has been completed.】

【Fifth Unit – <Dalan(S+)>’s rank has been raised to <Dalan(SS+)>.】

*

【Main Scenario – <Those Who Could Not Be Saved – Rose & Ruby> has been completed.】

【Sixth Unit – <Rose(S-)>’s rank has been raised to <Rose(SS-)>.】

【Rewards will be distributed.】